Historic Hologram

Everyone who collected hockey cards during the early 1990s knows of the Stanley Cup Hologram released by Pro Set during the 1990-91 season. But many don’t know about his little brother – the NHL 75th Anniversary Hologram, produced a year later. To commemorate the NHL’s diamond anniversary, Pro Set made 10,000 copies of this card and randomly inserted them into foil packs of 1991-92 Pro Set Series 2 hockey cards.

A large hockey stick and puck – bearing the NHL’s 75th anniversary logo – dominate the composition of the hologram, filling the upper half of the card. Below is an arena filled with spectators watching a players on a rink. Though not as valuable or sought-after as the Stanley Cup Hologram, the 75th Anniversary Hologram still looks great after almost 20 years. The picture has a sense of depth and quite a bit of detail, too.

While the front is exciting, the back is not. The flip side – which is hand-numbered in silver marker – features history about the league. A long, drawn out, 256 word history written in tiny capital letters. My feelings won’t be hurt if you skip this next paragraph.

Representatives from five teams initiated a business meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal to create a new hockey league. Laying a foundation for 75 years of glorious tradition, the National Hockey League was organized on Nov. 22, 1917, following the termination of the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited (NHA). The NHL began playing with the following four franchises: Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Wanderers. Frank Calder was selected the NHL’s first president and secretary-treasurer. In 1926-27, the Stanley Cup became the sole property of the League. The “Original Six” teams began play that same year and became the only NHL franchises in 1942-43; they remained the only teams in the league until 1966-67. Mervyn “Red” Dutton became NHL president following the 1943 death of Frank Calder, in whose name a memorial trophy is awarded annually to the NHL’s top rookie. Dutton retired just before the 1946-47 season and was succeeded by Clarence S. Campbell. In 1967-68, the NHL’s third president guided the league into an expansion process that was continued by current president John A. Ziegler Jr., who has held that distinguished post since 1977-78. The League totaled 21 teams after the merger with the World Hockey Association in 1979. With the addition of San Jose this season and the proposed entry of Ottawa and Tampa Bay next year, the NHL will feature a record-high 24 franchises. As the NHL celebrates its diamond anniversary, we honor the great players and builders who have contributed to the National Hockey League’s storied past.

Unfortunatly, this reads more like a textbook than a trading card. Even worse, the last sentence says “we honor the great players,” and yet no great players are mentioned. Nothing about Howe, Gretzky, Richard…but plenty about Calder, Dutton and Ziegler. It’s hard to get excited about those guys.

But no one cares about the back, right? It’s really about the shiny green-gold goodness on the front. Below is a video that better shows how sweet this card really is.

9 thoughts on “Historic Hologram”

The two holograms were always a pursuit of mine. I never wanted to buy the cards but rather pull one. Hard to believe something numbered to 10 000 would be so hard to get. But when there are a billion packs out there I guess the odds are against you.

Great looking card and it is nice to see yours is in great shape as well! Seen some look like they had a run-in with sandpaper!

Dave, I know what you mean about a run-in with sandpaper. Recently, I picked up a Stanley Cup Hologram that had SCUFFS–not the usual chips and scratches, but actual scuff marks. I balked, and the eBay seller refunded 40% of the sale price.

I was just looking up cards I got as a kid On the Internets and saw this site. I pulled 747/10000 from a pack at strip mall in ontario Canada when I was about 10 or 11, I remember being pumped as he’ll cause this and a cam Neely were in the same pack. Lol. Nice to see others out there that share in this tiny little thing.